PARIS: US President Joe Biden on Wednesday began a state visit to France marking 80 years since the World War II D-Day landings, with a new war shadowing Europe as Ukraine battles Russia's attack.
Along with French President Emmanuel Macron, British King Charles III and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Biden will remember the heroism of the Allied troops who gave their lives often far from home in the landings on June 6, 1944, to free Europe from Nazi occupation. For King Charles, it will be his first overseas visit since his cancer diagnosis.
While the sacrifice of Allied soldiers will be centre stage, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian President Sergio Mattarella will also be present as a sign of international post-World War II reconciliation.
Flying aboard Air Force One, Biden touched down at Paris Orly airport and, sporting his trademark aviator sunglasses, was welcomed by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Biden was also expected to promote the United States as a defender of democracy and international alliances during his state visit until Sunday, contrasting himself against election rival Donald Trump.
But the war that has raged in Ukraine since Russia's February 24, 2022, invasion will also be at the forefront, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attending and scheduled to meet with Biden, according to the White House.
No official from Russia has been invited, after Paris reversed plans to host lower-level representatives in recognition of the Soviet Union's immense contribution in World War II.
The most honoured guests will be the surviving veterans: Around 200 are expected, a number that is dwindling every year with most at least in their late 90s and some over 100.
Macron kicked off the commemorations Wednesday with a ceremony in Brittany to honour French paratroopers in the British Special Air Service (SAS) who died during the battle to retake France.
Biden, Macron and Zelensky are coming together at a critical moment in the Ukraine conflict, with Kyiv warning that Russia risks gaining the upper hand without a significant increase in Western help.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters traveling to Paris that Biden would tell Zelensky "how we can continue and deepen our support for Ukraine".
Macron has already sought to break taboos by refusing to rule out sending troops to Ukraine, a position that unsettled some EU allies.
Welcoming veterans as they arrived by air in Normandy, the French leader's wife Brigitte Macron expressed France's "deepest respect and deepest love", in a video posted on Macron's X account. — AFP
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